1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of disposable absorbent undergarments for adults. More specifically the present invention relates to a disposable undergarment which secured around the lower trunk of a person covering the person's genital area. The undergarment includes a flexible base sheet made of a soft cloth-like material. The base sheet has generally rectangular main panel which fits between the legs of the person extending from a lower front of the person's trunk forward of the genital area to rearward of the genital area. Respective left and right straps extend rearwardly from the main panel and wrap leftward and rightward around the lower trunk of the person. Respective ends of the straps are removably retained to the main panel to securely hold the undergarment in place on the person. A liquid absorbent pad is attachable to an inner surface of the base sheet at the main panel covering the genital area as worn.
In a preferred undergarment, the base sheet is made of a non-woven material with the straps of a configuration linearly extending rearwardly from a rear edge of the main panel. The ends of the straps are removably retained to the main panel at the lower front trunk by pairs of interlocable hook and loop patches affixed to the main panel and the ends of the straps. The length of the main panel is such that the rear edge thereof is disposed immediately behind the genital area. The pad is permanently affixed to the main panel with a liquid impermeable flexible barrier sheet therebetween to prevent liquid from passing from the pad onto the base sheet. The absorbent pad is formed with a genital receiving cup adapted to cover a male person's penis and scrotum. A pair of elastic seams disposed longitudinally along the pad provide longitudinal moisture seals with the person's lower trunk and legs.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many adults have minor urinary leakage due to the inability to achieve complete urinary valve closure. In particular, adult males often have such minor urinary leakage as a result of urinary or prostate surgical procedures, or radiological treatments.
Various undergarments have been developed for such problems. For lighter incontinence problems, absorbent pads, guards, shields, and absorbent inserts are used in inside underwear. For heavier incontinence problems, various undergarments have been developed such as belted undergarments and adult briefs which are used in place of underwear under the wearer's outer cloths. These undergarments tend to resemble disposable diapers in design, being thick and bulky. Consequently, they tend to be hot and uncomfortable to wear. Additionally, they tend to be difficult to put on and take off, often utilizing refastenable tapes which are removably adhered to landing zones formed of flexible plastic sheeting having releasable surface properties similar to baby diapers to retain them on the wearer. Such tapes tend to become less sticky after several attachments and removals, thus not retaining the undergarment properly on the wearer. They are also less comfortable than the cloth undergarments wearer's are accustomed to.
There have been various incontinence undergarments patented over the years. For example, medical protection devices for males for use in combination with incontinence undergarments are disclosed in Pudlo, U.S. Pat. No. 5,618,279 issued on Apr. 8, 1997, and Ryan, U.S. Pat. No. 5,716,350 issued on Feb. 10, 1998. Pudlo and Ryan teach protection devices which include a generally planar deflection shield formed of a moisture impervious material of sufficient length to extend from above the penis downwardly to the level of the scrotum. The shield includes a hole through which the penis extends to deflect urine away from the scrotum. The shield includes a sack-like structure extending from a lower portion thereof adapted to partially enclose the scrotum.
The medical protection devices, however, have several shortcomings. The device has a rather large padding which extends completely from the wearer's front to back waist area which is much more padding than needed to receive and properly manage multiple instances of minor wetting without having to change the undergarment. The device thus presents the bulky appearance of an adult diaper under the outer cloths such that the wearer may be embarrassed in business, work, or other public environments by other people realizing the wearing of the device. The device does not provide good wearing comfort nor look good to the wearer like regular cloth undergarments, but rather looks and feels like a large diaper. The device is designed specifically for male persons with the scrotum guard to protect the male scrotum from contact with urine, and is not readily adapted for use by female persons. The device must be completely removed like a baby's diaper for the wearer to urinate due to the use of adhesive side tabs holding the front and rear halves together. These adhesive side tabs are prone to pick up debris and are refastenable only a limited number of times before degradation of the adhesive force beyond usefulness.
Moretz et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,435,014 issued on Jul. 25, 1995 reveals a undergarment having a suspended moisture management panel. One end of the panel is attached to a front waist area of the undergarment and a second end attached to a back seat area thereof. The panel includes an inner fabric layer constructed of moisture wicking fibers for contacting the wearer's skin. An intermediate fabric layer is disposed adjacent the inner fabric layer formed of fabric for receiving and dispersing moisture wicked outwardly away from the wearer's skin by the inner fabric layer away from a lower crotch area of the undergarment. An outermost fabric layer disposed over the intermediate fabric includes a liquid impermeable, vapor permeable shield for providing a leak-proof barrier which prevents passage of liquid but permits dissipation of vapor therethrough.
The undergarment, however, has several shortcomings. The undergarment is not disposable but rather must be washed and reused. The undergarment does not have a leak-proof pouch since no elastic is utilized where the pad contacts the wearer's legs. The undergarment requires the wearer to raise their legs to step into and out of the undergarment. The undergarment must be sized to fit the particular wearer and cannot be adjusted to fit various size persons. The device must be lowered like briefs to urinate.
An adult brief for use in controlling incontinence is disclosed in Glaug, U.S. Pat. No. 6,307,120 issued on. Oct. 23, 2001. Glaug discloses an adult brief for use in controlling incontinence. The brief has a chassis which includes a front portion, a crotch portion, and a back portion. The chassis has of a fluid-impervious, cloth-like laminate along a central region thereof, and hydrophobic, cloth-like nonwoven side panels at each side of the central region. An liquid absorbing core is positioned over the central region. A plurality of refastening means in the form of fastening tapes are applied to the side panels at the back portion of the chassis. The front portion of the chassis includes areas for releasably receiving the tapes to hold the brief in place. The sides within the crotch portion are elasticized to fit around the wearer's legs and prevent the egress of urine therefrom. A top or waist section of the front portion and the back portion are elasticized to hold the brief about the waist of the wearer.
The adult brief, however, has several shortcomings. The device has a rather large padding which extends completely from the wearer's front to back waist area which is much more padding than needed to receive and properly manage multiple instances of minor wetting without having to change the undergarment. The device thus presents the bulky appearance of an adult diaper under the outer cloths such that the wearer may be embarrassed in business, work, or other public environments by other people realizing the wearing of the device. The device does not provide good wearing comfort nor look good to the wearer like regular cloth undergarments, but rather looks and feels like a large diaper. The device must be completely removed like a baby's diaper for the wearer to urinate due to the use of adhesive side tabs holding the front and rear halves together. These adhesive side tabs are prone to pick up debris and are refastenable only a limited number of times before degradation of the adhesive force beyond usefulness.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a disposable undergarment that can be worn over an extended period of time, and is specifically intended to receive and properly manage multiple instances of minor wetting without having to change the undergarment.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a disposable undergarment which is simple to put on and wear without requiring raise of the wearer's legs to step into.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a disposable undergarment that avoids the bulky appearance of an adult diaper, such that active wearers such as those in business or work environments avoid the embarrassment of others do not realize the use of the undergarment and promotes the self-esteem of the wearer.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide such a disposable undergarment wherein the wearer may urinate without completely removing the undergarment.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide such a disposable undergarment which is disposable.
It is still another object of this invention to provide a disposable undergarment which has a leak-proof pouch
It is another object of this invention to provide a disposable undergarment which can be adapted for use by both male and female persons.
It is another object of this invention to provide a disposable undergarment which is easily refastenable an indefinite number of times without degradation of the attachment device.
It is still another object of this invention to provide a disposable undergarment which looks good to the wearer, not significantly resembling a diaper.
It is another object of this invention to provide a disposable undergarment which provides good wearing comfort like regular cloth undergarments.
It is finally an object of the present invention to provide such a disposable undergarment which may be adjusted to most person's bodies.